---
title: "From Storming to Performing: Growing Your Project's Contributor Experience"
linkTitle: Grow Your Project's Contributor Experience
description: Set your contributor community on a course to not just survive, but thrive
date: "2021-10-29"
conference: KubeCon North America
slides: https://static.sched.com/hosted_files/kccncna2021/ab/From%20Storming%20to%20Performing.pdf
speakers:
  - name: Karen Chu
    url: https://github.com/karenhchu
  - name: Matt Butcher
    url: https://github.com/technosophos
youtubeID: yhlDYCdwg7I
---

The early days of a project seem so clear. Write some code, author some documentation, & post it on GitHub. Then wait for those GitHub stars! But OSS is as much about people as code. We’ll take an honest look at the contributor experience for a sustainable open source project.

We apply the form/storm/norm/perform model as a way to approach growth. With stories, examples, & our own experiences, we share practical guidance on how you can set your open source contributor community on a course to not just survive, but thrive.

**Part 1: Form — Tackling first tasks together**
  * Code
  * Website
  * Messaging
  * Docs

**Part 2: Storm — Gaining trust & sorting things out**
  * Resolving disputes 
  * Code of Conduct 
  * Governance 
  * Coding standards 
  * Contributors are not employees/coworkers

**Part 3: Norm — Sharing responsibility**
  * Issue management
  * Delegating work 
  * Standardizing communication channels

**Part 4: Perform — Optimizing for the long haul**
  * Retaining maintainers
  * Maintainer turnover & recruiting
  * Emeritus status 
